A Totally Unofficial Help & Tips FAQ

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  • ChainsawXIV
    ChainsawXIV
    Posts: 530 edited October 2012
    Totally unofficial like, but I hope folks will find this handy.

    *Moderator's note:* Totally unofficial...but totally awesome! Thanks for putting this together!

    h3. Guides

    "Floating Nav Bar Guide":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1561
    "Gnunn's Interactive Map Guide":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1251
    "Gnunn's Simple Button Guide":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1614
    "Wiki Navigation Box Guide":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1109
    "Official Dynamic Character Sheet Guide":http://help.obsidianportal.com/kb/advanced/creating-a-dynamic-character-sheet-template-dst

    h3. Formatting Tools

    "ChainsawXIV's D&D Tools":http://omnichron.net/external/op/tools/csm.html
    "Dungonmastering.com's DM Tools":http://tools.dungeonmastering.com/
    "Word to Textile Converter":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sydarksun/wikis/word-to-textile-conversion


    h3. Formatting FAQ

    "How do I use special characters in the name of a wiki page?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#1
    "How can I break up my adventure logs into shorter parts?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#2
    "How can I change the font used by text on a wiki page? What fonts are available?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#3
    "How do I create a link to a specific section of a wiki page?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#4
    "How can I display HTML code on a wiki page or forum post?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#5
    "How do I change the position of dungeonmastering.com monsters cards?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#6
    "How can I put a background image behind the content of my wiki page?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#7
    "How do I use an image I uploaded to Obsidian Portal as a background?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#13
    "How can I create indented paragraphs in the text of my wiki pages?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#8
    "How can I create block quotes, indented from both sides of my wiki page?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#9
    "How can I control the position, size, and characteristics of an image?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#10
    "How can I format HTML tables for use on my wiki pages?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#11
    "How can I change the color of a link from the default color?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#12
    "How can I make text float to the right of the page, beside the normal text?":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#14
    "How can I add hidden text to my wiki pages?"::http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/tips-tricks#15

    h3. Helpful Resource Sites

    "The Fantastinomicon":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/the-fantastinomicon
    "Shared Creations":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/shared-creations
    "The Gibson Institute":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/the-gibson-institute
    "Stock NPCs":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/a-database-of-stock-npc-s
    "Compendium of PbP & On-Line Games":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/compendium-of-pbp-on-line-campaigns
    "Gaming Music":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/gaming-music

    h3. Other Helpful Tools

    "Jayph's Language Converter":http://www.tilansia.com/langconvert.php
    Post edited by arsheesh on
  • Acetaminophen
    Acetaminophen
    Posts: 20 edited May 2012
    Thanks for doing this, Chain. You've been a huge help to me (and I'm sure many others) here.

    *EDIT*: _OK, this is Arsheesh here, I've intercepted Acetaminophen's original message and am going to co-opt it as a spillover comment page from Chainsaw's original FAQ page (apparently we've reached the max word limit to that original page and I can't seem to add anything to it)._

    h3. Templates

    "4th Ed D&D Character Sheet Thread":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=720
    "Arsheesh's Wiki Tempaltes":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/age-of-legends/wikis/html-templates-for-age-of-legends
    "Arsheesh's Update to Custom Background Images":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=2350&page=1#Comment_20057
    "ChainsawXIV's Wiki Templates":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sanction/wikis/templates-and-tools
    "FiredrakeMacFie's HERO System Character Sheet":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=506
    "General Use XP Bar Template":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1613
    "Gh0st's D&D 3.5 Character Sheet":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=221
    "Gnunn's D&D 3.5 Class Template":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1223
    "Gnunn's D&D 3.5 Monster Template":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1188
    "Gully's D20 Future Space Ship Sheet":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=561
    "KallaK's Template for replacing the standard Obsidian Portal top navigation bar":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=2278&page=1#Item_28
    "Killervp's Wiki Templates":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/a-god-rebuilt/wikis/site-appearance-and-how-we-role
    "Mage Character Sheet Thread":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=250
    "Mandi's WoD 2.0 Character Sheet":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=251
    "PhoenixMark's XP Tracking Bar":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/crimson-skies/wikis/acknowledgments
    "Redstar's Pathfinder Character Sheet":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=479
    "RobJustice's Savage World Character Sheet":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=235
    "Sandman's 4th Ed. Items Sheet":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1249
    "Sandman's 4th Ed. Traps & Hazards":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1263
    "Untamed's Shadowrun Character Sheet":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=758
    "Wolfhound CSS Tutorial: Getting Started (Boxes)":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=2278&page=1#Item_28
    "Wolfhound CSS Tutorial: Moving Stuff Around":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/dfd/wikis/css-2
    "Wolfhound CSS Tutorial: Putting it all Together":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/dfd/wikis/css-3
    "Zalambar's 4th Ed. Monster Block":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1188&page=1#Item_13

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
    Post edited by arsheesh on
  • autumnschild
    autumnschild
    Posts: 153
    Holy moly ChainsawXIV... I'm going to see if I can sticky this.

    EDIT: Stuck. This is a great compilation. Thanks for all the effort ChainsawXIV!
  • gnunn
    gnunn
    Posts: 423
    I will say that Chain's own D&D Tools and Wiki Templates served as the jumping off point for my experiments in formatting! I'll have to peruse these other links to see what I can learn.
  • autumnschild
    autumnschild
    Posts: 153
    I just wish there was a way that I could tell the whole community at once to check this stuff out. Think of how great it would be if everyone put this much effort into their campaigns.

    Wait! There IS a way!
  • Micah
    Micah
    Posts: 894
    Hey folks,

    In the recent forum migration, some of these links are now dead. We'll be trying to re-link things as we find it.

    Sorry for the trouble,
    Micah
  • ChainsawXIV
    ChainsawXIV
    Posts: 530 edited December 2009
    I was going to go ahead and clean up the busted links after the forum transition, but received this error when I clicked the Edit link for the top post:

    Some problems were encountered
    The requested comment could not be found.

    Edit: I don't receive that error when attempting to edit this new post though. Account association issue maybe?
    Post edited by ChainsawXIV on
  • autumnschild
    autumnschild
    Posts: 153
    Quite possible that it could be a db association issue. Like Micah said, we'll try to clear up the links as soon as possible.
  • ChainsawXIV
    ChainsawXIV
    Posts: 530 edited December 2009
    Yup yup. Just figured I'd save you guys the trouble if I could.
    Post edited by ChainsawXIV on
  • gnunn
    gnunn
    Posts: 423
    Yeah, I just got the same error when trying to reactivate the link in my sidebar how-to thread. I also noticed that my account tab on the forum does not identify me as having started any threads, so I suspect you guys are on to the cause.
  • Micah
    Micah
    Posts: 894 edited December 2009
    @gnunn In the migration, we decided to keep the # of posts, since that could be easily determined, but not the # of topics/discussions. If it's a big deal to people, we can recalculate it.

    The thing to remember is that we (the OP team) consider the forum a kind of side-line area to the main site. We'd much rather work on improving things on the main site than working on the forum. So, the forum will always probably be a little stark and bare compared to the main site.

    That being said, I'll see if I can figure out why you guys can't edit your posts. It's probably a simple fix.
    Post edited by Micah on
  • Micah
    Micah
    Posts: 894
    Ok, I made a small change to the settings. Can you edit your posts now?

    It's tough for me to test this stuff since I have admin powers and can pretty much edit anything...

    I could register a new account w/o admin powers, but that wouldn't allow me to edit anything that was created in the old forum.
  • ChainsawXIV
    ChainsawXIV
    Posts: 530
    All fixed up. Thanks Micah!
  • gnunn
    gnunn
    Posts: 423
    @ Micah,

    The number of topics is not a big deal. I was mostly just pointing it out, because I suspected that the discrepancy might be linked to the errors that popped up when Chain and I tried to edit the initial posts on the threads we started.

    It's all fixed now for me though! Thanks!
  • ChainsawXIV
    ChainsawXIV
    Posts: 530
    Just for kicks, I've just added the links from this FAQ to the "Google Side Wiki":http://www.google.com/sidewiki/intl/en/index.html for the Help & Tips forum page. Not sure if that will be useful, but thought I'd mention it. The whole Side Wiki thing seems like it could be handy on here.
  • Dra8er
    Dra8er
    Posts: 30
    I'm pretty adept at editing wiki but cannot for the life of me figure out how to break up and link my Adventure logs, and upon finding the Question above, I'm afraid there is no answer provided, lol;

    Question: My adventure logs are really long, and the main Adventure Log tab page is huge! How do I break up my logs, so just a short version is seen on the tab, and people can click to read more?
    Answer: The Adventure Log pages have built in support for this feature. Just the following code where you want the brief version to leave off, and the link to read the rest to appear:

    NOTE: If there is text I cannot see it? Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thx in advance...

    Roll On...
  • ChainsawXIV
    ChainsawXIV
    Posts: 530 edited February 2010
    Sorry about that, the wiki system apparently refuses to show that code properly, no matter what I do, and the new forum does as well, although in a different way. I've updated the FAQ entry with instructions that should be more helpful though.
    Post edited by ChainsawXIV on
  • Dra8er
    Dra8er
    Posts: 30
    Much Thanks, especially for the super fast reply.
  • ChainsawXIV
    ChainsawXIV
    Posts: 530
    See the edit above. The example I posted there originally got mangled by the forum system, and won't work. I didn't expect you to get here and try it before I could make the correction. :p
  • Dra8er
    Dra8er
    Posts: 30
    (but without the spaces in between) I gotz it to work, I'm use to coding in other languages and my brain gets frazzeled sometimes...
  • DieselBlooded
    DieselBlooded
    Posts: 1
    I'm Designing a 3.5 Epic level campaign, i have been working on a Dragon, very ironic and will most likely piss people off, but its a 15th Age cat. Advanced Paragon Great White Wyrm of Legends, i need help coming up with an epic epic name for it he is the leader of the Dragon Council, i might be posting Campign Info on my account once its up im still deciding, But if anyone can help with a name that would be great
  • gnunn
    gnunn
    Posts: 423
    I like this draconic language "translator":http://draconic.twilightrealm.com/. Simply think up something that sounds ominous in English and type it in. (e.g. "everybody dies" = "Fronnol Loreatic")
  • Dra8er
    Dra8er
    Posts: 30
    Hr
  • JimTriche
    JimTriche
    Posts: 483
    Very awesome guides and templates. I already love this community.
  • VentureSix
    VentureSix
    Posts: 30
    ChainsawXIV - loved the templates and examples! I grabbed a few to use for mine - great work!

    "Mine":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/profit-and-peril
  • sandman
    sandman
    Posts: 155
    I posted this on another thread but I think it would be better to post it here too since this is a sticky one and it will reach more people this way:

    I just realized there's a really simple way to add links to *your own* campaign (or whatever you want to link to), in the forum profile.

    After logging in (the forums), go to the _Account_ tab, then to _Personal Information_, and there you can _add custom infomation_. For example:

    * Label: My Campaign
    * Value: your campaign's url

    You can check my profile to see what it looks like (just click on my name).

    Even though this doesn't help when you want to check someone else's site (at least for now), it will help when other people want to check yours. If we are lucky, most people will take 2 minutes of their lives to add this info, and soon we will all be able to use forum's profiles to access each other's campaigns without having to look for it in the Search box. It's also a good way to promote your site!

    Here's the original thread in case you want to read it: "Link to OP's user Profile from forums":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1282&page=1#Item_4
  • Poutine_Paladin
    Poutine_Paladin
    Posts: 285
    Just a quick, probably easy fix. How do I get OP to stop sending all updates on forum posts to my email account. Any time I spend any time on the forums, I have to go clean out my inbox. Probably just a box I have to check or something, but somebody tell me please.
  • ChainsawXIV
    ChainsawXIV
    Posts: 530
    Click on the account tab at the top of the forums, then the notification link at the top of the left column. You should find the settings you're looking for there.
  • ChainsawXIV
    ChainsawXIV
    Posts: 530 edited November 2010
    Main post has been updated with the latest links and tips. Please let me know if I missed anything. Incidentally, the additional descriptions have been removed from the template, guide, and tool links because the post hit its character count limit. If folks feel that any of the link text is unclear, let me know about that too.
    Post edited by ChainsawXIV on
  • AdamDray
    AdamDray
    Posts: 10 edited November 2010
    Some thoughts (I'm a web developer by trade):

    **Question #2: How can I break up my adventure logs into shorter parts?**

    You can display the angle brackets in the example using "HTML entities":http://www.w3schools.com/tags/ref_entities.asp.

    @@

    **Question #3: How can I change the font used by text on a wiki page? What fonts are available?**

    Note that if you choose a Windows font, it's likely not to show up on non-Windows systems. However, most Macs these days recognize the common Windows fonts. "This site":http://www.ampsoft.net/webdesign-l/WindowsMacFonts.html lists fonts that are commonly available on Windows and MacOS. You can drop a _list_ of fonts separated by commas into the style though and there are special web "key words" that indicate "generic families of fonts":http://www.w3.org/Style/Examples/007/fonts.en.html as a fallback. See below for a fallback to "sans-serif."

    Also the SPAN tag may be better than the DIV tag. DIV creates a new paragraph where SPAN creates a new inline section of text. Either will work, but use the one you need for the right purpose.

    @This text will be in some kind of sans-serif font.@

    **Question #5: How can I display HTML code on a wiki page or forum post?**

    Try replacing the special HTML characters with their "HTML entity equivalents"::http://www.w3schools.com/tags/ref_entities.asp.

    Also, the == Textile code should let you bypass the Textile parser.

    **Question #15: How can I add hidden text to my wiki pages?**

    Using p(hide) or class="hidden" will still send the text to the browser. Anyone can View Source on the web page and see this text if they really want to. If you have technically savvy players, do not trust your secrets to "security by obscurity."

    There is currently no way to totally hide text from the browser (except to put it in your GM section).
    Post edited by AdamDray on
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